Moving to a new state or even just a new town is a stressful experience. And the stress doesn’t finish after you have finished moving in all your furniture and got settled in at your new job. Now that you find yourself living in a new town, you have to start all over again finding your favorite restaurants, the best local food store and, of course, your new barber shop or hair salon.

People are often very loyal to their favorite barber or hair stylist, liking the way they cut their hair and becoming convinced that no one else can make their hair look good. Move to Wilmington or Smyrna and you will have to find a new Delaware barber shop; you may have to get a few haircuts at different places before you find the one that suits you.

Barber shop or Salon?

The first question men need to ask themselves is do they want to find a traditional barber shop, or would they prefer to go to a hair salon? In the past, salons were only really frequented by women, but in these days of metrosexual men, even the most trendy and fashionable hair salons are unisex, and you will often see men getting their hair styled not just cut.

Barber shops are a bit more practical and functional, offering a straightforward hair trim, and perhaps a shave if you’re feeling extravagant, in an appointment that lasts only a few minutes compared to an hour and which is a lot less expensive than the prices charged by designer salons.

Small Town Barber Shop

Move to small-town Delaware and your local barber shop will look and feel very different to the more impersonal stores that you find in big cities. While city barbers just want to try and squeeze in as many appointments as possible, a small-town barbershop is more like your local bar; somewhere men can get together to chat about sports and their hobbies without their wives interfering.

The small-town barber is as much a confidant and counselor as he is a hair stylist, listening to the woes and worries of his customers while he cuts their hair. Many of these men will have been coming to get their haircut at the same place since they were young boys, and it is a comfortable and reassuring part of their life — not just somewhere to get a haircut. Older men who are used to their taciturn, efficient barber will find the chatty, pampering hair salon more than a little disconcerting.

Barbershop Services

Most barbers have a fairly narrow list of services — haircuts and shaves usually the sum total of what they provide. However, don’t assume that a small-town barber shop won’t be able to maintain your stylish hairstyle; barbers are all highly trained and are just as able to cut and shave modern styles.

Barber shops are also making their entrance into the 21st century. While you can still find many stores that are rooted back in the mid-20th century, there are other barbers who have embraced the desire of modern men to look and feel good, and perhaps even to be a little pampered. As well as your stylish haircut, you can get your hair dyed, get some of those tell-tale grays out of sight, and even enjoy a luxury hot towel shave for a close cut and smooth skin.

Barbers don’t usually cut women’s hair although there are many who will happily trim the hair of a son or daughter accompanying their dad, often for free. Many children, sons, in particular, have fond memories of accompanying their fathers to the barber shop.

Quality Service at a Good Price

The services provided by your small-town barber are often just a fraction of the cost of the same haircut at a fashionable hair salon. Yet this does not mean that the services provided by the barber are not as good as the salon stylist. The reason barbers are cheaper is that their haircuts take only a few minutes per customer, whereas salons will wash the hair of all their clients before cutting and blow-drying to finish. Even the shortest, most basic of male hairstyles can take 30 minutes to wash, cut, and blow dry in a salon compared to less than ten minutes at a barber shop.

Finding a new barber is as much about finding someone that you get on with and whose company you enjoy as it is about finding someone who cuts your hair well. In an ideal world, you would find a great barber who also happens to have a great line in conversation — but you might have to look a little harder to find one of those gems.